The Long Revolution: Scottish Self-Government and the Case for the Union
The Long Revolution: Scottish Self-Government and the Case for the Union Gerry Hassan Open Democracy, February 17th 2012 David Cameron came north to Scotland speaking with the authority of Prime Minister of the UK and the status of leading a party with one MP out of 59 Westminster representatives. He delivered an important speech and intervention and met with First Minister Alex Salmond; this can be seen as part of the long campaign and positioning of each man and side seeing himself as a long distance runner, pacing themselves, sizing up and trying to get the better of their
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So who will speak for a better Scotland?
So who will speak out for a better Scotland? Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, February 4th 2012 Human beings have a need to associate, to feel they belong and to be part of wider groupings. We all recognise this, but we also know some of the limits: the power and negativity of being in a gang, tribe or group, of including and excluding. In my life many things have defined how I see myself and how I interpret the world: various values, philosophies, labels and outlooks, from politics to culture to of course, football. I used to define myself
The Battle for Britain: A Note for Independistas and Anti-Independistas
The Battle for Britain: A Note for Independistas and Anti-Independistas Gerry Hassan Open Democracy, January 25th 2012 January 25th 2012, Burns Night, will be remembered as a historic, watershed day for Scotland and the UK. Alex Salmond announced to the Scottish Parliament his government’s proposed question for the autumn 2014 referendum on Scottish independence, ‘Do you agree that Scotland should be an independent country?’ This was he said ‘short, straightforward and clear’ (1). The Scottish Government consultation paper, ‘Your Scotland, Your Referendum’ (2) is a cogent, thoughtful document, offering the vision of a modern, progressive Scotland at ease with
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The Story of a Northern Rebellion and how it could remake Britain
The Story of a Northern Rebellion and how it could remake Britain Gerry Hassan New Statesman, January 16th 2012 The Westminster parties have a northern problem but they do not know what it is or what to do. Alex Salmond, leader of the Scottish National Party and First Minister, stands all-conquering, a nationalist hero to some; a one-man band of “El-Presidente Salmond” to others. The SNP’s “big tent” politic, social democratic and pro-business, leaves the opposition with little terrain to mark out; redolent of Tony Blair and New Labour at their peak in 1997. How has this happened in
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When ‘Two Tribes’ Go To War: Why Independence Needs to Understand the Union Case
When ‘Two Tribes’ Go To War: Why Independence Needs to Understand the Union Case Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, January 14th 2012 This week Scotland exploded onto the UK and international stage. The constitutional debate and independence have become the talk of Westminster and across the world. Pro-union forces have been caricaturing the independence camp as ‘separatists’ with even the British Government paper published this week having contained within its title the phrase: ‘whether Scotland should leave the United Kingdom’. Independence supporters like to think they are above this. Yet they have a tendency to think the union is
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The Possible Scotlands of the Future
The Possible Scotlands of the Future Gerry Hassan The Guardian Comment, January 13th 2012 The Scottish independence story has become one of the UK’s hottest stories, forcing Westminster and London politicians and correspondents to gen up quickly about Scotland and Scottish politics as they try to make sense of what is going on. Scottish independence and self-government are not about an old-fashioned nationalist movement drawing from reactionary ideas, but a profoundly modern, pro-European, centre-left politics. The debate of independence versus the union has already seen battlelines drawn, David Cameron and Alex Salmond engage in the first of what will
The Scotland that Opposed Thatcher
The Scotland that Opposed Thatcher Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, January 7th 2012 History calls for reflection; leaders’ standings rise and fall and then rise again, and a sense of perspective eventually emerges which tells a fuller picture. Harold Wilson’s stock rose in the 1980s as Labour lost election after election, while some observers tried to make the case for Ted Heath’s apparently doomed premiership; in time some will even attempt to make the case for Tony Blair. This political stock taking moment has now come for Margaret Thatcher, aided by the release of the film ‘The Iron Lady’ with
The ‘Three Scotlands’ and How to Win an Independence Referendum
The ‘Three Scotlands’ and How to Win an Independence Referendum Gerry Hassan Bella Caledonia, January 4th 2012 Scottish politics post-the election and the return of a majority SNP Government have existed in a seeming state of limbo, a kind of political phoney war. The SNP have won a landslide victory but have yet to produce a serious strategy for winning independence; the unionist parties in Scotland have all been reduced to an existential crisis about defining their purpose and point; while David Cameron’s government (if it ever thinks about Scotland) is of the view that the break up of the
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How to Play Political Poker: The High Stakes of the Independence Debate
How to Play Political Poker: The High Stakes of the Independence Debate Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, December 31st 2011 The Scottish constitutional debate will increasingly be the main, if not the only, debate in our national politics over the next year. It is going to be a debate which not only has a Scottish interest, but for obvious reasons, a UK audience, alongside a wider European and international relevance. It is crucial for many reasons that we conduct this debate in the best way possible. International attention, including the world’s media, will be on us. We have to rise
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Why are so Many Women’s Voices Missing from Scottish Public Life?
Why are so Many Women’s Voices Missing from Scottish Public Life? Gerry Hassan The Scotsman, December 24th 2011 Scotland was once a masculinised culture and society, a place where men built big, heavy things and large numbers of women stayed at home. We have changed in many respects, and to some the separate worlds of men and women’s work have almost disappeared. This is the feminisation of Scotland to some, seen in the gender revolution that was the first Scottish Parliament which saw record numbers of women MSPs, numerous women Cabinet ministers, and a raft of prominent women
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